Helping with equipment drive, establishes Jessica Ghawi scholarship

By Megan Quinn Enterprise Staff Writer

Posted:
08/26/2012 12:00:00 AM MDT

WANT TO GIVE?Donate cash or new or gently used sports equipment, including balls, pads, helmets, sticks and shoes, during the Jessica Redfield Ghawi giveSPORTS Equipment Drive from 7 a.m. to noon Sept. 8 at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

Donations also can be made to the Jessica Redfield Ghawi giveSPORTS scholarship, which pays sports team registration and fees for disadvantaged children. To donate, visit apreciouschild.org.

Jessica Redfield Ghawi was working on a big project before she died in the July 20 Aurora theater shootings. Her plan: Gather gently used sports equipment to donate to children who lost their belongings in Colorado's summer wildfires.

Ghawi never got a chance to see the project through, but local organizations are partnering to make sure her work -- and her spirit -- lives on.

The work is twofold: A Precious Child, along with Kroenke Sports, Broomfield-area volunteers and Ghawi's family, will spearhead an equipment drive on Sept. 8. In addition, A Precious Child has created the Jessica Redfield Ghawi giveSPORTS Scholarship Fund, which helps families who cannot afford to enroll their children in sports.

Sandy Phillips, Ghawi's mother, said the project was important to her daughter because of her passion for sports and service.

"Jessica was a joyous soul. Passion is such an overused word, but that's how she lived her life. It was with gusto. Her dreams were big, and she lived them vibrantly," Phillips said in a letter to participants.

Ghawi was a journalist and avid sports fan who was just starting her career in sports journalism. Friends and family said she was blazing a trail in a field with few other women.

Jessica Ghawi
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Picasa
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Before her death in the Aurora theater shooting that claimed the lives of 11 others and wounded 58, Ghawi was in the process of setting up the equipment drive to replace what children had lost during Colorado's wildfire season. While families were rebuilding by replacing the essentials, Ghawi felt sports equipment would give children something fun and relaxing to help return their lives to normal.

Carina Martin, director of A Precious Child, said the organization became involved with Ghawi's vision during what was supposed to be a routine meeting. Martin met with Deb Dowling, the community relations director for Kroenke Sports, to discuss partnerships for unrelated projects.

Ghawi had worked as an intern for Kroenke Sports, Dowling said.

During their meeting, Martin and Dowling discussed A Precious Child's existing giveSPORTS program, which collects gently used sports equipment for disadvantaged children.

The two organizations seemed perfectly equipped to bring Ghawi's plan to fruition.

"It was one of the moments when you know you are exactly where you should be, at the exact right time," Martin said.

After that, Phillips, heard about the meeting and reached out, asking A Precious Child to help spearhead her daughter's donation effort.

"She wanted her daughter's dream to become a reality. She said it was important to her to celebrate Jessica's life and her generous spirit, not the tragedy," Martin said.

Volunteers expect a big turnout for the donation drive. Volunteers from Adams 12 school district, Broomfield Soccer Club and local businesses expect to fill an 18-wheel truck with donated equipment.

Martin said the donation drive is just the beginning. A Precious Child now has the Jessica Redfield Ghawi giveSPORTS Scholarship Fund, which helps pay for registration fees, tournament fees and other sports-related fees for children who otherwise could not participate in a sport. Martin said A Precious Child hopes to raise $30,000 to benefit 300 or more children. A Precious Child will start accepting scholarship applications once the funds are raised, she said.

The scholarship is not the first in Ghawi's name. The Jessica Redfield Sports Journalism Scholarship Fund has raised more than $34,000. The scholarship helps women pursue sports journalism goals, the Denver Post reported. Major contributors include members of the Los Angeles Kings.

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